Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 5 of 5
-
Item
-
ItemLearning organisations and their educational impact in a corporate environment( 1995)This thesis is a study of learning organisations and their educational impact in a corporate environment. It provides an overview of the theory of organisational learning, and of learning organisations and describes several models of learning organisations. The important principles of holism and explicitness are established. Examples of learning organisation practices in overseas enterprises are compared with two case studies of Australian organisations which are aspiring learning organisations. These practices are then critically reviewed leading to the development of a new model for learning organisations, based upon 'empowered leadership', which explains holism and explicitness in detail. It concludes by addressing the issue of what learning organisations provide educationally, using the emerging prominence of 'life-long learning' as a focus.
-
ItemThe characteristics of exchange structure patterns of an adult low-level ESL classroom using a genre-based approach to the teaching of writing : a study of classroom discourse( 1994)This study is concerned with the characteristics of exchange structure patterns of an adult low-level English as a second language (ESL) classroom using a genre-based approach to the teaching of writing in an Australian context. To provide an appropriate system of analysis, Ventola's (1987; 1988h) system for analysing conversational structure in service encounter texts has been expanded to suit the characteristics of the data in the current study. Applying the expanded version of Ventola's system, the whole data have been segmented into exchanges. Two major categories of exchange structure patterns have been identified: non-anomalous, which comprises simple and complex exchanges, and anomalous, which comprises elliptical, defective, and broken exchanges. Using this exchange categorisation as a basis, the characteristics of the interactional patterns, the shifts of roles of information supplier, and the variability of language use in a genre-based approach classroom have been identified and explicated. Exchange structure patterns dominant in certain sub-stages vary in accordance with the variation of other factors. In conjunction with the shifts of roles of the information supplier, for example, in Sub-stage 1, in which the students were cast to serve the function of information supplier, B-event exchanges were dominant, Only a small number of A-event exchanges occur in this sub-stage. In contrast, in Sub-stage 2 and Rehearsal where the teacher served the function of information supplier, A-event exchanges were dominant.
-
ItemThe education of an adult : the ideas of Martin Buber( 1991)Martin Buber regarded adult education as a means towards the transformation of societies through the process of community renewal. He insisted that the principal object of teaching adults should be to foster in them the spirit of action, and to make them the agents of their own learning. Education, to Buber, was a dialogue conducted between the teacher and the student. He was disturbed by the disillusionment and cynicism he observed in the modern youth of his time, and he saw the teacher-student dialogue as being concerned with the nurturing of hope and faith. Buber did extensive work in the field of adult Jewish education both intellectually and in practice. He was involved first in Germany during the period of the Nazi rise to power, and later in Israel, where he worked vigorously for the cause of community education and the training of teachers for adults. This thesis attempts to explore some of these issues. There are six chapters. The first is a biographical introduction, followed by a discussion of the development of Buber's thought from early mysticism to his later dialogical philosophy. The third chapter is devoted to his ideas concerning social education, which, he believed, would be a force that could bring about a revolution from within society against political power. The next two deal with Buber's convictions on such topics as creativity, freedom and authority and the process of education, leading to his adult educational activities in both Nazi Germany and Israel. Finally, attention is drawn to the influence of his ideas in. providing a philosophical foundation for the theories of other educationalists, such as Paulo Freire. An attempt has been made to demonstrate that in his theories of education, Buber applied the principles of this anthropological philosophy to the concrete realities of teaching and learning. In this way he has provided a valuable mechanism for the contemporary educator who may choose to use his suggestions in any critical evaluation of education.
-
ItemConfucian confusion: a western analysis of the efficacy of contemporary workplace training methods in a multicultural environment( 1999)This research investigated the extent to which experiential training techniques are appropriate for use with multicultural groups by testing an assumption that a dissonance exists between the perception of training efficacy assumed by "Western" adult education methods, and the concomitant perceptions of training participants of Asian/Confucian background. Data relating to the research question was collected through a process of interpersonal interviews with adult educators working in Victoria and from focus groups involving people of Confucian background who have participated in workplace based training. The responses of the two groups were compared and contrasted. The research found that significant difference of perception exists between the two groups. The research identifies opportunities to render training programs more culturally inclusive through adaptations to program structure, processes, attention to learning styles, the level of interpersonal interactivity and the training environment. The research proposes that we are often unaware that our accepted notions and most ethically based intentions are often blinkered by our subconscious cultural socialisation. The implications of these findings are significant for those who have the responsibility to design, implement and coordinate workplace education and training. The research concludes with suggestions for changes in practice and recommendations for future research.